The department said refunds will be sent to bank accounts as it will issue "only e-refunds from March 1, 2019." Link your PAN (permanent account number) with your bank account to get your refund directly, swiftly and securely, the department said in a public advisory issued Wednesday. It added the bank account could be either savings, current, cash or overdraft.

The international taxation division of the Income Tax (I-T), which is representing the government’s case, has asserted before the arbitration panel that “there is often a public interest for tax legislation to be enacted retrospectively...situation where retrospective legislation might be justified is to reverse a judicial decision with which the legislature disagrees.”